


anywhere

by stardustgirl



Series: AU of an AU [12]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: (just a tiny bit), AU of an AU, Ezra Has Bad Judgement, Ezra Meets Some Very Sketchy People, Imperial AU, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Drug Use by Minors, Mando'a, technically NOT angst for once???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16300385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: “I can pay.  And- and work it off, too.”His eyes narrow further but he finally nods.  “Where're you headed?”“Anywhere.”|~~~|Ezra needs to be wherever the Empire isn't.  And he'll do whatever it takes to get there.





	anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> Present tense again yeet I feel like it fits this AU a lot better than past tense soooo
> 
> TW: Referenced Drug Use by a Minor

“Do you have room for one more?”

The man abruptly looks up from the datapad he’s examining, eyes narrowing immediately.  “Who’s askin’?”

“I can pay.  And- and work it off, too.”

His eyes narrow further but he finally nods.  “Where're you headed?”

“Anywhere the Empire isn’t,” Ezra answers, ignoring his gradually lessening headache.

“That’ll be expensive.”

He hesitates before answering.  “I know.”

The man grunts.  “All right then, pay up and we’ll figure out how much you’ll be workin’ off.”  Ezra’s hand darts to his pocket and he pulls out the credits Sabine gave him, handing them over to the man.  He counts them out, mouthing the numbers before glancing back up, his gaze skeptical.

“Twenty?  Where’re you expectin’ to go with that?”

Ezra forces his gaze not to dart away, still holding eye contact with the man.  “Like I said. Anywhere the Empire isn’t. And I can work off the rest.”

The man raises his eyebrows but finally shakes his head, handing the credits back.  “No one respectable will only take that much, even if you’re workin’ the rest off. How’d you get here in the first place?”

“A friend,” he answers vaguely.  “They...had to go.”

“Then take these somewhere else, find a gig or somethin’ till you get at least three hundred.  No one respectable’ll take you anywhere like you’re talkin’ about with less than that, even if you offer to work it off.”

He nods, turning to leave as he pockets the credits once again.

“And, kid?”  He stills, turning back to the man.  “Just...use some degree of judgement.  Not everyone’s definition of work is the same.  Keep that in mind. Would hate to see a kid like you get caught up in somethin’ like that.”

He nods hesitantly.  “Th- thanks.” The man nods once and turns his attention back to the datapad as Ezra drifts away.

He wanders the station aimlessly for a while, searching for another ship.  But there’s ‘troopers everywhere, ‘troopers who might be on the lookout for a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed teen by now.  And he’d prefer not to take chances.

He slips through the crowd, eyes flitting from face to face.  He tries to find someone who looks relatively decent but unallied with the Empire.

It doesn’t work.

His headache is slowly easing, but he’s still unsure if that means the poison’s gone or not.  Why would Kallus have poisoned him, anyway?

He passes a ship that’s similar enough to the _Jai’galaar_ he almost stops but continues, telling himself it’ll just be showing Sabine he really is just an ICS kid, and nothing more than that, if it turns out to be the same ship.  Even if it’s true, he doesn’t want her to know. Doesn’t want anyone to know.

He passes another ship, a freighter with several men pushing crates into the hold.  He approaches slowly, glancing around for someone in charge. One of the men catches sight of Ezra, surveying him before approaching.

“You need something, boy?”

He nods hesitantly.  “A- a ride.” The man’s brow raises as a corner of his mouth lifts slightly before he nods.

“This way.”  He turns, heading back to the crate and pushing it into the ship as Ezra trails behind.  “Where to?”

“Anywhere,” he answers, something warning him not to mention the need for the Empire’s absence.  The man nods in answer.

He leaves the crate in the hold and Ezra follows him as they leave the cargo hold, heading up toward what he recognizes as the front of the ship.  “Boss!” Ezra jumps at the sudden sound, but the man doesn’t seem to notice.

A door opens and another man, a sandy-haired, tall figure, emerges and comes down the hall toward them.  “What is it, Nassin? I don’t have _time_ for th—“  He stops at the sight of Ezra, raising an eyebrow as his gaze slides briefly over to the man who led him inside, Nassin.  A vague half-smile forms as the man speaks. “And, ah, Nassin, who’s this?”

“Well, kid?”  Nassin turns to him and he swallows.

“E- Emmik, sir.”  The idea to change his name is sudden, but it feels...right.  Safe. Or saf _er,_ at least.

The blonde nods.  “Alright, Emmik, I’m Captain Lycard.  And this,” he gestures to the ship around them, “is the _Dusklight._ ”

Ezra nods, glancing around briefly before Lycard clears his throat, drawing his attention back to himself.

“So, kid, what do you need?”

“To get out of here.”

The man nods thoughtfully, the half-smile widening.  “All right. You got credits?”

“Yeah, uh, twenty.”  He fishes in his pocket for the credits, holding them up.  Nassin makes a grab for them but he pulls them away, shooting a quick glare at the adult.

“Twenty?” Lycard echoes, brows raising.  “I hope you know that won’t pay for passage to anything beyond the upper levels.”  He chuckles.

“I can work the rest off.  Doing- doing jobs and...stuff.”  The slowly growing half-smile is beginning to make him uneasy, but he can’t tell why.

“You have anywhere specific you were headed?”

He almost says Lothal, but remembers Kallu’s instructions.

Though Kallus was also the one who poisoned him.

He realizes it’s been too long without a response and clears his throat.  “Anywhere. Preferably somewhere on the down-low.”

“You running from someone, kid?”

“I...I owe a few too many people.”  He’s not _wrong,_ per se, but he doesn’t trust either of these people.

The captain nods in understanding, giving Nassin a significant glance.  The man leaves, and Ezra swallows, uncertain why he suddenly feels so exposed.

“Where you coming from?”

“Lothal.”

Lycard nods again, the half-smile only continuing to grow.  Ezra suppresses a sudden shiver, but only barely. “And you said you’ll work the rest of the passage fee off?  How old even _are_ you, kid?  You don’t look like you’re past 16.”

The man’s second question bothers him for some reason.  “Yeah, I will. And I’m 18, not 16.”

There’s something in the man’s eye as he nods slowly.  Ezra’s seen it before, but he can’t place where. “All right.  Our next stop is Akiva. But we’re still going places after that, so if you’d like to stay on, by all means.”  Lycard studies him carefully, gaze lingering longer than he would like.

_He’s just checking if you have weapons.  Nothing out of the ordinary._

Ezra nods, offers a ghost of a smile.  “We leave in an hour. You can start by handing over those credits and helping get those crates outside onboard.”  He places the credits in the captain’s waiting palm, and the man breaks into a full, genuine smile for the first time.

“Welcome aboard, Emmik.”

As he turns to leave, he thinks of the sheathed vibroblade in his boot, and realizes he’s never been more glad he stole it.

Now, if only that endless headache would stop.


End file.
